Rodgers not happy after Packers' loss to 49ers

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, from Chico, stays warm against the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter of an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday in San Francisco. (Associated Press)

But if he was labeled with only one designation, one that truly encapsulated who he was and about, his teammates know what it would be — competitor.

Rodgers, standing in front of a swarm of media armed with cameras, note pads and microphones, as the face of the franchise, was none too pleased of a second season ending in an NFC divisional playoff game, this time a 45-31 loss Saturday night at the hands of the 49ers, the team he grew up following.

The Pleasant Valley High graduate, former Butte College and UC Berkeley standout wasn't thinking of his first meaningful game at Candlestick Park and what the figurative homecoming meant to him.

"No, not really," Rodgers said in a brief press conference shortly after the game.

He couldn't.

"Aaron is the type of competitor," Packers running back Ryan Grant said, "every game is going to mean something to him."

Grant knew how Rodgers felt.

"Like every competitor, a loss like this just leaves a nasty taste in your mouth," said Grant, who has spent five-plus seasons in the backfield with Rodgers.

Tight end Jermichael Finley echoed Grant's sentiment. The game, like any other chance to prove himself, means everything to Rodgers.

"We just wanted to make him comfortable," Finley said.

That was the last thing Rodgers was by the time the game concluded, ending his and the Packers' season.

When a reporter asked what being in his "first game" as a player at Candlestick meant, Rodgers corrected him before he could even finish: "Second."

A preseason game years ago, of course, was the first.

When that reporter finished his question, he asked Rodgers if there was excitement because he was "coming back home."

With a loss, Rodgers wasn't about to find any, prompting the earlier three-word dismissal. Right now, the loss was too fresh, too painful.

"Well, it's pretty frustrating, put a lot into this. Now I stand here and you realize that this is the last time that group is going to be together," Rodgers said. "It will be a different team next year. There will be additions, subtractions, and that's the most frustrating part. You spend a lot of time with those guys, you care about them, you care about this a lot and then to go out there and play like that, it's disappointing."

Rodgers, widely considered the best at his position, threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns with an interception on 26-of-39 passing. But Rodgers has always been a bottom-line guy. Without a win, he's not happy.

"We didn't do enough on offense," he said, shouldering the load. "We could have helped our defense out a little bit."

And that's the bottom line to him. Rodgers is famous for that competitive drive that fuels him that motivated him when others dismissed him as being from too small a town, too small a program, too small in stature. Every slight, seemingly catalogued into his memory — or in the case of rejection letters from college programs, simply kept — push him to work out a little more, throw a little more. Do whatever it takes to be the best, prove others wrong.

That's where Rodgers is truly at home. On the field, competing.

Knowing that, Grant said, the one thing the quarterback can't wait to do is simple — get back out there and be everything he can.